The present invention relates generally to a redi-mix concrete mixer drum cleaner. More particularly, this invention relates to a rotating spray cleaner mounted to a telescoping lance.
Concrete trucks transport liquid concrete in rotatable mixer drums. Helical baffles line the interior of the mixer drum and move the liquid concrete fore and aft within the mixer drum when the mixer drum rotates. The direction of the liquid concrete depends on the rotational direction of the mixer drum. After removing a load of liquid concrete, residual concrete may remain in the mixer drum of the concrete truck, especially on or near the helical baffles.
The residual concrete eventually cures and hardens within the mixer drum. Over time, the build-up of hardened residual concrete increases the apparent weight of the mixer drum, and lowers the mixer drum's liquid concrete capacity. In addition, the hardened residual concrete, especially near the helical baffles, may interfere with unloading liquid concrete from the mixer drum. In some cases, removing the hardened concrete may require that an operator actually enters the interior of the mixer drum and physically chips the hardened residual concrete from the helical baffles. Typically, the operator uses a jack-hammer to remove the hardened residual concrete producing significant dust and other hazards. Accordingly, it is desirable to remove residual concrete from the mixer drum prior to the residual concrete hardening.
Many operators today rely on wand-mounted pressurized spray devices to remove residual concrete from the inside of the mixer drum. These devices are inflexible in their design and in their spray pattern, and they do not always effectively clean residual concrete from the concrete mixer drum. More specifically, the wand-mounted pressurized spray devices may not effectively clean all sides of the helical baffles inside the mixer drum. In addition, the limited spray pattern of existing devices may require the mixer drum to rotate while spraying the interior of the mixer drum to increase the coverage area.
It would be desirable to provide a pressurized spray to the interior of the mixer drum ensuring thorough liquid and solid residual concrete removal.
If would be further desirable to provide a pressurized spray to clean liquid and solid concrete from the interior of the rotating or stationary mixer drum.